


TimidMarshmallow’s Button Box

by TimidMarshmallow



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Everyone else may appear at some point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 01:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15109247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimidMarshmallow/pseuds/TimidMarshmallow
Summary: A button box is where useful items are stored for later creations. It’s usually tucked away out of sight in a desk or drawer.However, this one will not be hidden. It will be filled with drabbles for Final Fantasy XV. So please, come and dig through my writing ‘sewing kit’ of sorts.





	1. Sharing is Caring

**Author's Note:**

> It didn’t make sense to post these little things by themselves. Just a warning: Updates will come as ideas do, so there won’t be a consistent schedule. 
> 
> Please enjoy, and if you want me to expand on something then let me know!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was supposed to go in a fashion zine but it was cancelled. I did not want to throw away the fic though.

“Dude. Please?”

“No.” Chocobo turds, now he needed to revive his character again. “Ugh, you made me die.”

“Well, fine, if I can’t borrow the King’s Knight one then can I borrow the chocobo carnival one? Pleeeeaaaasssseeee???” Prompto, fresh from the shower, dropped onto the hotel bed as he toweled his hair dry. He was only wearing some boxers as he begged Noctis for a cool shirt. “All we ever wear is black. I get it, royal color and all, but some variety would be nice.”

Noctis smirked while tapping harder on his phone. He was so close to beating the level, all that was left was the boss fight. “Why are you asking to borrow my King’s Knight shirt then? That’s all black. Besides, you have that red tank top. That’s a different color.” He really didn’t mind if his best friend took one of his shirts, but he enjoyed the creative reasons that the blond concocted as he tried to convince the prince to share. Besides, teasing the younger guy was always fun.

“Yeah, but that’s it. Red or black. And duh, video game shirts are cool no matter what color they are! So… is that a yes to me borrowing the chocobo one??” Prompto smiled hopefully. 

Noctis furrowed his eyebrows. “You have more than just the red and black… No, I guess you don’t. We didn’t pack much for this trip.” It was left unsaid that the route to Altissia had lengthened unexpectedly. Each of them had only packed enough for the two day drive to Galdin, because after that the Crownsguard had planned to wear their (brand new, only ever worn for sizing!) Kingsglaive uniforms for Noctis’ wedding. Noctis himself had brought two suits. One for the actual wedding, that raiment had his cape and all the golden adornments typical of royal attire, and another suit for before the ceremony. He had been counting on paparazzi attacking as soon as they landed in Altissia. With the Citadel’s demise, all of the plans had gone awry. 

He shook his head to clear that line of thinking, ignoring the quizzical look from Prompto at his momentarily darkened expression. 

Well, actually... Those weren’t the only outfits in their ever-expanding inventory. Holly had given them those thermal suits when they had cleared the power plant of daemons. And there were those magitek exosuits, but those were for battle. The armor was definitely not meant to be worn casually. Oh, and Prompto had brought his winter coat and a tactical vest that he insisted looked cool. Noctis didn’t know why, it wasn’t like he needed it. The gunner had access to the armiger, he didn’t need a way to carry all his weapons on his person. They had picked up those cool assassin costumes from Lestallum too. Man, that festival was fun. “Wear your Medjay stuff.”

“I can’t wear my cosplay stuff at the beach! It’ll get all sandy! And people will look at me weird, the festival has been over for ages now!” Prompto sat back up on the hotel bed. “Hey, do you think the city will have another one soon? I hope so. It was really fun even though the empire ruined half of it.”

Noctis put the phone away, he had finally cleared the level. “Yeah, but the empire ruins everything. Come on, get dressed. I’m gonna hop in the shower and then let’s go see where the other two went.”

“Iggy and Gladio have been out for a while now…” Prompto moved to get some pants on.

“Oh, you know them. Ignis is probably stealing all of Coctura’s recipes and Gladio’s probably chatting up some beachgoer.” 

The older men had opted to leave the other two in the quay’s hotel after checking in. They had been driving all day, and they wanted to stretch their legs before dinner. Somehow they had all talked Ignis into letting them have a mini vacation. (Truth be told, the advisor had wanted it as badly as the other three. The last few bounty hunts they had done were absolutely horrible.) Noctis had wanted to lay down, surprise surprise, and Prompto had wanted to shower. He had taken longer than necessary, the luxury of hot running water had felt so nice. While deciding to get dressed he had the idea of asking for some different attire. The blond had actually been surprised that his friend hadn’t fallen asleep while he had been in the bathroom. Oh well, sometimes the phone game they played could be pretty addictive… 

Noctis still hadn’t answered his question, and Prompto was half dressed now. 

“Noct.”

“Whatever.” Noctis summoned the requested chocobo carnival shirt from the Armiger and tossed it at Prompto’s head. He sauntered over to the bathroom, summoning the King’s Knight shirt and his jeans. Prompto put the slightly oversized shirt on and laughed. “So that’s why I couldn’t use that one? You were going to wear it?” 

“Yep.”


	2. “Aranea... Thanks!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw this theory that Aranea was actually working for Ardyn during Episode Prompto. We will find the truth when Episode Aranea comes out!

Aw man, that was going to leave a bruise. 

Prompto supposed he had bigger things to worry about at the moment, but shock and pain can skew priorities a little bit. Damn, and he had made it so far. 

As he lost consciousness, he hoped Noct was alright.

-o-

“Did you need to hit him so hard?” Aranea had technically finished her assigned mission, but she stuck around to make sure the kid would be okay. Well, that, and the egotistical psychopath hadn’t paid her yet.

“My, my, look who has a heart. Little late now though, our dear Prompto here could have used some more of your ‘compassion’ earlier.” Ardyn left the blond on the floor, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Lazily stepping around him, he moved closer to the self proclaimed ex-mercenary to give her the last paycheck. “I’d ask you how it feels to play turncoat, but I already know. Now, how much did I owe you again?”

Aranea ignored him for a moment to kneel next to the boy she had betrayed. She had led him through the snowdrifts, pulling him from his own private hell and telling him that he could make it back to his friends. She ran a finger along Prompto’s cheek, her silent apology. 

Standing back up, she sighed. “We agreed on 50,000 gil.” It seemed ridiculous now, gil in exchange for somebody’s freedom. Damn it, jobs like these had never bothered her before. Maybe it was because this one was a bit more personal. She had seen the gunner while he was with the others, and he was nowhere near as vicious a fighter as when he was alone. Desperation did that to a man, and Aranea had been pleasantly surprised to find that Shortcake wasn’t as fluffy as she initially thought. “You’ll keep your word?”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling, he won’t know that you handed him over to me on a silver platter. Who knows, maybe he’ll even be worried about you when he wakes up. Such a caring soul is likely to wonder what happened-”

“Enough.” Aranea was done listening to his goading. She was a professional, and her business was concluded. It was time to go. “Make sure his friends find him in one piece.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him. Run along now, before he wakes up and you have to explain to him why you’re still here acting like a mother hen.” Ardyn chuckled at her scoffing and watched her leave with satisfaction. She had played her part so well, Prompto actually thought he had escaped. 

Ardyn couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he realized he was just going to have to wait for that spoiled brat he practically worshipped. After all, little boys who scream and cry get put in timeout. Prompto had done his fair share of both during his little vacation. 

-o-

“She told me which way Gralea was, and then that was the last I saw of her.” Prompto tried to stop a tiny hiss from escaping as Noctis dabbed at the cuts on his face. Normally they’d leave this kind of precise medical care to Ignis, but… “I hope she made it back to her men.”

“Yeah, Biggs and Wedge, right?” Noctis suddenly realized that they had been driving the train when the daemons had attacked in Gralea. They hadn’t seen them after that. “She’ll find them.”

“Yeah. Still hope she’s okay, though.”


	3. Basting Brush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surely they lose things sometimes?

“Has anyone seen my basting brush?” 

Ignis ripped the flap of the tent open, drenching two of the half asleep occupants in searing sunlight. The third was dead to the world and unaffected by the sudden brightness. The remaining Crownsguard groaned and covered their bleary eyes. “Iggy, why are you up so early…”

“Breakfast won’t prepare itself, and I don’t see you three doing it. So i’ll inquire again, have you seen my basting brush?” True, he didn’t need the tool right this second, but the brush was essential for spreading the oil over the fish Noctis had caught last night. That was going to be lunch, unless he couldn’t find what he needed. He supposed he could just drench the fish with oil instead, like a barbarian, but he was loathe to prepare the meal improperly. Besides, his stuff should be where he left it.

“Is that the paintbrush thingy you used last night?” Prompto sat up. He was still tired, but Ignis needed help. Gladio rolled over, trusting the younger man to fix whatever nonsense the advisor was rambling about at six o’clock in the morning. “Didn’t you put it next to the stovetop?” 

“I did place it there, but now it is missing.” Ignis huffed and adjusted his glasses. “That brush has some sentimental value, and it is imperative I find it.” He turned to go search again, dropping the tent flap. Prompto yawned and stood to follow. He put on his boots before stepping outside of the tent. “Gah, my eyes!”

When he was used to the sun he looked at the upturned campsite. “Uh, Ignis? Did a rampaging behemoth attack our stuff last night?” Everything was a mess. The chairs had been moved out of their circle around the campfire, all the plates were sitting on the ground, there was an open Ebony can laying on its side just leaking onto the haven, and in the center of the tornado was the cooler. Ignis was digging through it, muttering about nothing ever being left alone. The only neat section of the haven was where their rented chocobos were still sleeping. Prompto righted the can of coffee and put the plates back onto the small wooden table attached to the stove. “Looks like you checked everything already…”

“Yes, I did. I’m getting a bit upset now.” Ignis stopped rummaging through the cooler to check the chairs again. Maybe he had put it down and it had fallen?

Prompto had never seen the advisor this frazzled before, not even in the midst of battle. “That brush thing is pretty important, huh? Where did you already look? I’ll help you check everywhere else.” He moved a folding chair aside and looked under it. Nothing there either.

“Thank you. And yes, it is important. It was a birthday gift from Noct before we left the city.” 

“Oh! I remember that! Noct couldn’t think of anything to get you, so we looked up cooking tools after school one day. Haha, we told you we were doing homework! Aw, good times.” Prompto smiled at the memory. He had gotten Ignis a pen, and had noticed that the man still used it when concocting new recipes. Hmm… what had Gladio gotten him? Oh right! It was a keychain of the Ebony logo, and it was on the Regalia’s key. 

The blond was touched that he had saved all of their presents, obviously treasuring each of them. Prompto needed to find that basting brush. For Ignis!!

Goal set firmly in his mind, Prompto went back into the tent. Time to do the impossible. “Noct. Psst, Noct, wake up! Noooooccctt.” The royal stirred, and suddenly his hand shot up. Prompto dodged the attack meant to repel him. “Ignis lost something, I need your help.” 

“Uuuuugggghhhh. Not now.”

“Noct, this is important.” Prompto shook his friend’s shoulder. Noctis tried swiping at him again. “Go bother Gladio, Chocobo Butt.”

“My hair does not look like a chocobo NOCT YOU’RE A GENIUS!!” They had rented chocobos yesterday, and the birds were still sleeping at the edge of the haven. There was no way Ignis had checked there! Only the stuff around the campsite was out of place, the birds had looked undisturbed. Of course five minutes prior he hadn’t even registered this, but now it seemed so obvious.

This wouldn’t be the first time a chocobo was Ignis’ worst nemesis, so Prompto was sure he was right about his sudden inspiration. 

“First Ignis and now you? Get out of the tent, Prompto, some of us are trying to sleep here.” Gladio rolled over and threw a pillow at the noisy party member. “Sorry! Gotta go now, so go back to sleep, haha!” The blond left them to their slumber to ask Ignis if he had looked by the chocobos yet. “Ignis!”

The advisor hopefully dropped the pot he had been moving aside. “Did you find it!?” 

“No, not yet but did you look over there already?” Prompto darted over to the chocobos as he asked, and gently lifted his bird’s wing. Nothing under there… He went around to check the other wing, trying not to disturb his avian steed too much.

Ignis had no such reservations. He walked over to the birds and whistled. They groggily woke up and stood to attention, ready to ride at a moment’s notice. Prompto continued searching, now that they were out of the way. Ignis glared at them before searching their saddles. “Did one of you take it? You’ve robbed me of my glasses before, so the shiny handle of my basting brush would definitely be attractive to you.”

“HERE IT IS! Iggy, I found it!! Look, it was under your chocobo’s foot! What a silly bird!” Prompto held the item aloft and nuzzled the chocobo.

“Don’t give it affection, it will think that stealing is okay.” Ignis moved around Noct’s chocobo to accept the basting brush. Prompto tried to wipe some of the dirt off before handing it over. “Thank you, Prompto.”

“No problem, Ignis. I’m sorry it’s all gross and stuff.” The blond continued petting the thief despite his crime. He was happy that Ignis looked so relieved to have his gift back. “That’s quite alright. I can wash it. What would you like for breakfast?”

“No way, I get to pick? Okay, let me think…”


	4. Window Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me into the Altissian stores, dangit!

The giant sale sign caught his eye.

“Ooh, half off! But what’s the sale for?” Prompto tugged on Noctis’ sleeve so he’d stop. The older male halted their Altissian exploration to see what had captured his friend’s attention now. “Prompto, the window display is full of purses. Take a wild guess.”

“Dude, don’t be like that! Just because that’s all that you can see in the window-”

Gladio cut off his exasperated speech by opening the door and walking in without a word. Ignis sighed and followed, wondering what trouble they’d get into today. Prompto hurried in after, curious about the shield’s intentions. “Come with us, Noct!”

“Alright, I’m right behind you.” Noctis walked in after, relishing the air conditioning as it hit him in the doorway. That was the nice thing about being in a city again. Modern comforts. The boys had grown up in Insomnia and the journey through the Lucian countryside had made them miss some points of city life. The wilderness had its perks, silence and fresh air among them, but it was nice to enjoy the little conveniences again.

Noctis spotted the eldest man examining a bag sitting amongst a row of purses, the other two hovering behind him. “What, the Armiger isn’t good enough anymore?” He poked a metallic button on one of the bags idly as he teased the older man. Prompto tapped Ignis’ arm to show him the price tag, and the advisor hummed. That was a good sale, they would save a lot of gil if Gladio decided on that one.

“Shut up, it’s not for me.” Gladio shook his head and moved on to the next satchel on the shelf. “Iris would love one of these. I know it’s not much, but she said she’s really gonna miss us while we’re here. Just wanted to do something to show her that big brother thought about her.”

“Aw, that’s really sweet of you, big guy! I bet Iris will be happy with whichever bag you pick.” Now that Prompto knew what the mission was he really wanted to help. “Oh look! This one is buy one get one. Hmm, but Iris won’t need two…”

Ignis picked up one of the small clutch bags next to the display. “Do you suppose Monica would appreciate a gift like this? I can’t recall ever seeing her with a purse.” The no-nonsense Crownsguard didn’t seem like the kind of woman to worry about having a fancy purse. But they couldn’t really assume too much about her personality, they had been surprised to learn of her affinity for felines. Noctis shook his head. “If we get her one, it shouldn’t be that one. It’s too small.”

“Tch, what do you three know about purses?” Gladio elbowed the nearest friend, who happened to be Ignis. He was glad they wanted to help him, but they really had no experience with this sort of thing. Choosing the right bag was a lengthy process, one he had suffered through when he took his sister when she turned thirteen. That shopping trip had been worse than any of the endurance trainings that Cor had come up with. 

Prompto puffed his chest out. He had some knowledge on the matter! A little bit, yeah, but it totally counted. “I know girls like the cute ones! I heard my classmates talking about their bags all the time. Right, Noct?”

“I never listened to all that. Couldn’t be bothered.” Noctis shoved a big pink bag at Prompto. “Here, this one matches your outfit.”

“No it doesn’t, cut it out! Haha, here! This one brings out your eyes.” The blond held up a sequin covered mess, and Gladio scolded them. He was trying to compare two bags, Iris would really like the color of one but the other bag had more pockets. Which would be better? He couldn’t focus with the ‘expert’ on purses and the royal butthead acting like children. “Will you two behave? Can’t take you kids anywhere.”

Ignis wisely guided his younger friends away. “Perhaps you could look for something for Lady Lunafreya? This store has other things beside purses.” He stopped pushing on their lower backs when they reached a table of fancy soaps and lotions. “Look, there are perfumes on the adjacent table. Why not peruse the selection and leave Gladio to his task?” 

“Good idea, Iggy. He was getting all intense.” Prompto picked up a clear soap that had flowers inside of it. “This is cool. Noct, what do you think?” He had only received one letter from the oracle, and unfortunately that wasn’t enough to help him determine her soap preferences. How was he supposed to help his best friend pick a nice gift for his bride-to-be? He wanted to show his gratitude to her, she was the reason he had even had the courage to make friends with the prince. Well, Noctis would have a better idea of her likes and dislikes. He was the one who had a notebook correspondence with the woman, though Prompto doubted they had ever talked about something as trivial as soap.

“How’d they get the flowers inside?” Noctis took it to get a better look, and Ignis launched into an explanation. He put the soap back down, suddenly sick of it. He didn’t need a whole lesson on the history of soapmaking right now. “Hey, want to look for something for Cindy?”

Prompto blushed and spluttered. “I can’t get her soap, she’ll think I’m saying that she’s dirty!”

“But you wanted me to get soap for Luna?” Noctis smirked as his friend tried to explain himself. Ignis was amused as well, forgetting to be irritated that Noctis hadn’t paid attention to him while he was trying to answer the question about the soap.

“No, that’s different! Lunafreya isn’t a mechanic so she wouldn’t think that someone would give her soap because she’s dirty. I don’t mean that Cindy is, it’s just that working with cars all day you get a little dirty because duh you’re working with cars but I mean-” Aw crap, he had really dug himself into a hole now. If they told Cindy that he maybe sorta implied that she got dirty from work then she’d get all offended and never talk to him again. “-it’s just that-”

“Lighten up before you hurt yourself. Haha, you’re red!” Noctis laughed at his friend’s flustered expression. Ignis put a hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “We know what you meant. Why don’t we check another section? It seems Gladio is still looking at the choices.” 

The shield was no closer to choosing a gift yet, so the other three still had time to kill. 

It seemed the building was a department store, so they wandered through the shoe section. “Wow. This heel is pointy.” Prompto didn’t want to touch it, lest he accidently get a cut. “Looks like Aranea’s boots.”

“Really? You looked at her shoes? She was actively kicking me and I don’t remember what her boots looked like.” Noctis couldn’t believe that his friend remembered such an insignificant detail. Ignis hummed in agreement. “Her boots were more complex than this shoe.”

What!? Specs had noticed too?

“You guys are weird.” Noctis held up a ballet flat. “Do you think she only wears shoes that she could convert into a weapon?”

“That would be so sick! Imagine we could just pull our shoes off and then bam! Instantly deadly!” Prompto brandished the nearest box of shoes to demonstrate his point. Ignis shook his head. “Never mind all the weapons we have immediate access to thanks to his highness’ magic.”

“Yeah, I guess we could just use those instead.” Prompto put the shoes back. “Ugh, is he almost done? I’m getting hungry.” They walked back over to Gladio, who was looking at a bag with a cartoon frog on it. “That would be better for Sania. Iris doesn’t seem that into frogs.”

“Thanks for the input. Go back over there.” Gladio put the rejected item back and waved his friends away. They ignored his dismissive motion and stayed hovering, hoping that would rush him into a choice. They’d been here a while now, and the shield had looked through everything twice. Ignis decided to intervene. “There is no law stating you must take advantage of the sale. The store has other items that Iris may enjoy.”

“Yeah, you gotta look at this cool soap we found! It has flowers in it and it smells pretty good.” Prompto went to retrieve what he was talking about, and Noctis sighed. “Gladio, you’re usually not this indecisive.”

“...Sorry guys. It’s just, I really want this gift to be perfect. It’s kind of my apology for being away so long. This trip is taking longer than expected. I’m not blaming you, of course. Just missing my little sister, is all.” 

Prompto had returned during Gladio’s apology, and he put the soap down on the shelf. “Hey, we totally understand. You just want to see her again. It’s okay.” Prompto, Noctis, and Ignis didn’t have any remaining family after Insomnia’s fall, so they mostly worried about each other. But Gladio had Iris, and while she had travelled with them the other three had grown attached to her as well. It may not have been as strongly as her biological brother, but the other three missed her too. Prompto even worried about Talcott sometimes (something about a young boy with no family hit too close to home). Yeah, they would pick up the cactuar statues, and whatever this gift attempt was today had to stem from a similar emotion. They completely understood where Gladio was coming from.

Noctis slung his arms over Prompto’s shoulders and around Ignis’ back. “Cid said we were brothers, but it’s alright if you miss your sister too.”

Ignis also reassured the oldest group member. “The sentiment behind the gift is more important than the item itself. That being said... Do you need more time to look? We’ll wait.”

“You know what? I’m gonna get the soap. Maybe Iris would like it.” Gladio picked up the treasure that his brothers had found. “Just don’t tell her Prompto picked it out instead.”

“Haha, your secret is safe with me, big guy!” Prompto beamed, happy that he had helped his friend.


	5. Ebony and Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some high school shenanigans. Merging friends is always tough.

“Read this.” Noctis shoved the phone in Prompto’s direction as soon as he sat down, and the blond immediately leaned back to avoid getting hit in the nose. “Okay, you don’t have to force it up my nostril!” 

“Sorry, just read.” Class was going to start soon, and then Prompto would have to go back to his seat. They wouldn’t get to chat freely again until lecture finished. 

“Uh? What is this? ‘Introducing a new pet to your old one’? Noct, why do you want me to read this?” The younger teen read it anyway, even though he was confused. Noctis started to explain once he handed the phone back. “Well, you know how we planned for you to stay at my place Friday night? Ignis is coming too. He said he wanted to meet the ‘classmate I keep spending time with’. That’s you, by the way.” 

“Wait!? Are you saying I’m the new pet that needs to be introduced!? That’s cold, calling Ignis and me pets!” Prompto tried not to be hurt, he was sure Noctis had a good reason for referring to them in that manner. The prince spluttered at the accusation. “That’s not what I meant at all! I wanted you to read the part where it talks about scents!” 

“You mean where it says that familiar scents help build better bonds?” Prompto grabbed Noctis’ phone back to find the part they were talking about. “Exactly. I have a plan to help you two get along from the start. I… really want you two to be friends.” 

“Oh.”

Prompto was touched that Noctis wanted him to be part of his inner circle, and was interested in this plan he mentioned. He’d give the older boy’s idea a go, he was nervous enough to meet the advisor he always heard so much about. He’d take all the help he could get. “But? This article is for animals. Isn’t it different when you’re meeting new people? Especially since our sense of smell isn’t as strong as a dog’s or a cat’s…” 

“I tried to find one for helping your friends get along, but the only thing I could find was matchmaking tips. I don’t want you two to get along that well.” Noctis leaned back in his chair, briefly picturing his anxious wreck of a friend trying to date his composed advisor. Shaking the thought away, he winked at Prompto. “I know just the scent to use.”

“Should I be scared?” 

“Quit your crying. You’ll like it, and Ignis won’t even know what’s going on.” The teacher started talking, and Prompto rushed back to his seat. Friday was tomorrow, so whatever plan was in place would have to wait for now. 

-o-

“Ebony?” 

“Ebony. He is obsessed with the stuff.” Noctis opened the can and started pouring a tiny bit into his hand. He set it down on the kitchen counter of his apartment, cupping the dark liquid carefully. He walked over to the sink and rubbed the coffee over his hands. “We gotta hurry, he’ll be here in fifteen minutes.” 

“What are you doing?” Prompto yelped in surprise when Noctis, still slightly dripping, surged forward to rub his hands on the back of Prompto’s neck. “Will you stay still!?” 

“Sorry, give me a warning next time! All you did was lunge at my neck!” Prompto obeyed, and kept in place. Noctis went to get more coffee from the can. “Roll your sleeves up more.” He smeared it over his friend’s forearms, choosing not to comment on how Prompto yanked his arm back when he got too close to the ever-present wristband. “Dude, let me help. It’s me you’re ‘scenting’ anyway.”

“You smell really good. I think this is going to work.” Noctis started rubbing at Prompto’s face when he groaned. “Unforeseen problem, buddy. It’s drying and now I’m all sticky.” It was true. The coffee was leaving an unpleasant… not film, but Prompto didn’t know how else to describe it to Noctis. “Relax, he won’t be touching you. Besides, you can’t even see any trace of the coffee.”

“Why does it dry clear? It’s black. Shouldn’t there be some color?” Prompto washed his hands off at the sink, unsure if Ignis would be a hand-shaker. Noctis pushed the half-empty can of Ebony into the blond’s hold when he finished drying off. He had heard the tell-tale beep of his electronic doorlock.“He’s coming, take a sip!”

“I need to drink it too!?” “Shh!”

The advisor walked into the kitchen and put a small grocery bag down. “My apologies for the delay, Noctis, but the line at the supermarket was atrocious.” Ignis gave Prompto a once-over as the blond awkwardly took a swig of the Ebony in his hands. “Mmm, hello! Haha, this stuff is delicious. Noct said you love this stuff?”

“Yes, I do enjoy this particular brand. Prompto, was it?” Ignis held out his hand, and Prompto stepped closer to shake it. The overwhelming smell of coffee hit him like a wall, and Ignis suppressed a cough. “Am I to assume you also drink Ebony?”

“Uh...” Prompto held up the can, hoping that would be answer enough. He didn’t want to lie to the guy he just met. Noctis stepped in front of his hopeless friend. “He has a can every so often. Nowhere near as obsessed as you, though.” Ignis nodded suspiciously. Noctis also reeked of the coffee, the smell had gotten a little bit stronger once he moved closer…

“What’s going on?” Ignis narrowed his eyes.

Chocobo turds. 

“What do you mean? Prompto’s just nervous to meet you because you’re so strict all the time.” Noctis tried for nonchalance, and that proved he was plotting something. 

“Yeah, that’s me, haha! Nervous around new people, hehe. So, um, what’s in the bag?” Ignis ignored the blond’s feeble attempt at a conversation change, sensing that the truth would be easy to pry out of him. Noctis could be stubborn, but this new boy seemed like he was eager to please. He’d tell the advisor what he wanted to know. “Prompto. How long have you been hanging out with Noctis?”

Prompto was so confused. One second Ignis was glaring at Noct and the next the older teen was calmly and innocently talking to him. “Since the beginning of the school year, sir.”

“There’s hardly a need for formalities.” Ignis unloaded the grocery bag, and the other two could see that he had gotten the ingredients to make a pizza. Noctis smiled, tonight was going to be awesome. Well, once Specs stopped being all interrogative. “He’s not that much older than we are, but he acts like he’s thirty.” 

“Thirty!?” Ignis was back to glaring again, and Prompto hurried to remedy Noctis’ insult. “It’s good to be responsible!” Prompto grabbed one of the cheese packages from the counter. “Speaking of responsible, do you want help making dinner?”

This kid wasn’t so bad. “If you would like to help, please wash your hands.” Ignis set to gathering the tools he’d need for his craft.

Noctis realized he had never washed his hands after rubbing the coffee all over Prompto, and suddenly being aware of the stickiness bothered him. “Move over, Blondie.” Prompto stepped back, bumping into Ignis. Unfortunately, the advisor raised a hand to help steady him and ended up touching his arm. 

Ignis noticed the sticky substance on his skin. 

Prompto froze as Ignis lifted his fingers to confirm what he was ninety percent certain of. Noctis turned from the sink to see Ignis sniffing his hand. “Why is there Ebony all over your arm?”

“I’m sorry! Noct said you liked coffee and I didn’t want you to hate me so Noct said if I smelled like Ebony then you’d like me so he rubbed it all over me and themmph” Noctis’ hand stopped the waterfall of words. Prompto stayed still, unsure of how to get out of the metaphorical grave they had dug for themselves. Ignis quirked an eyebrow. “Let go of him, Noct.” 

The prince did, and Prompto hesitantly wiped the water from his friend’s hand off of his face with his sleeve. He stayed quiet, ready to be reprimanded. What they had done was wrong, right? Now that it had actually happened the stupidity of the plan became extremely obvious. Wait, wasn’t this technically emotional manipulation!? There was no way Ignis would let him stay over now. Noctis wouldn’t be allowed to hang out with him if these were the stunts they’d pull! Prompto tried to stay calm, but he was gradually failing as the silence stretched on.

Ignis finally figured out how he wanted to address the confirmation of his suspicions. They really had been too obvious. “You know that using scents to induce bonds only works for animals?” 

“I know, Specs, but I really wanted you to like him too.” Noctis shrugged, trying not to look too upset that his genius plan had been so easily foiled. Prompto blurted out another apology, but Ignis held up his hand. “No, I understand. I’m sure I’ve been painted as the ‘uptight advisor’. I am sure this is why you were nervous for our first meeting.”

“...Yeah, he said you are strict about veggies and video games so I guess I figured you weren’t going to like me.” 

“Well, I can tell you that you picked the right scent to try and influence me. However, it would be best if you washed it off now.” Ignis turned back to the pizza-making supplies, and Prompto awkwardly shuffled. “It’s kind of, well, everywhere. I need to take a shower.” 

Noctis threw an arm around his coffee scented pal and sniffed one last time. “Specs, why don’t you use it as cologne?” Ignis chuckled and Prompto full on laughed. It was obvious why he didn’t, the sticky texture of dried coffee on skin was rather unpleasant. “Let Prompto go shower. Noct, you’ll be helping me make the pizza. The vegetable pizza.”

“Augh, Ignis, come on!” Ignis coolly dodged a swipe from Noctis. “No, this is what you get for wasting a good can of Ebony. Smearing it all over your best friend, I’m surprised he still trusts you after a stunt like that.” Prompto added his two cents as he headed towards his overnight bag laying on the couch. “I don’t mind! Noct is really cool, even if he has weird plans sometimes.”

Noctis rolled his eyes at his loyal friends. Weird plans, yeah right. It was their fault for trusting him so much. He could probably drag his beloved idiots to the ends of the earth and back. “Get in the shower already! And we are NOT having vegetable pizza!”


	6. Cold, Enough to Chill My Bones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was playing Comrades, doing the ‘fight the bros’ challenge. When I used ice against Prompto he let out this really pained shriek.

“Back for more? I’m game!”

The glaive nodded, eager to begin training. Prompto blushed. Apparently some of the Kingsglaive members thought he was cute. Ignis had told him he heard some younger members gushing about his ‘adorable face’ and ‘perfectly groomed hair’. Hopefully that wouldn’t be a distraction while they were fighting. 

Prompto starts the fight with a starshell, and the glaive covers her eyes. Rookie mistake. The gunner quickly takes advantage of the momentary distraction to get in a few shots. His adversary glows green with healing magic, and Prompto rolls further back. Usually after they healed themselves the royal soldiers would warp-strike. He tried not to let it remind him of Noctis too much.

Sure enough the glaive warped, almost on top of him. She tried to slice at him with daggers, and Prompto punched. He quickly followed it up with a gunshot, but the soldier rolled out of the way. This trainee wasn’t as inexperienced as he originally thought. It was sad, the war and the following eternal night forced everyone to grow up faster and fight harder. Sometimes even that wasn’t enough. If Prompto found a tag while he was out hunting then he’d grab it for Dave, a habit left over from his travels with Noctis. 

He’d stopped counting how many tags he had turned in.

Pulling out one of his larger pieces of machinery, he began spraying the battlefield with toxic fumes. He was careful not to breathe any in. In his avoidance of poisoning himself he failed to see the glaive readying her magic spell. Ice swirled around her hand and she slammed it down onto the ground. 

The gunner cursed himself for making a silly mistake. He was in the blast radius and quickly paid the price for not paying enough attention. Snow lingered in the blast of cold air, with chunks of frozen water that Prompto shielded his face from. 

A scream ripped from his mouth. It was too cold-

He was back in Niflheim, terrified for his life as he trudged through the white molasses. He was getting nowhere fast by speeding on the snowmobile through the trees that would definitely hurt if he crashed into them. He was shooting, feeling like nothing would ever stop the metallic monstrosity chasing him and Aranea. He was-

He was frantically pushing off a hand on his shoulder, and turning away from snapping fingers trying to call him back to the present day. 

“I I-I’m sorry! Let me get up, we’ll start again. I’m okay, I’m sorry!” Prompto forced himself to stop shivering, and the glaive stared at him with wide eyes. “We’ll say you won that round, hehe.” 

The Kingsglaive member shook her head, and then the green magic from before returned. Prompto felt relief wash over his frozen muscles. “You didn’t have to… Thank you. Guess I don’t do well with your ice magic, huh?” He’d need to talk to Ignis about this. The advisor would know what was wrong with him. A little bit of cold shouldn’t have reduced him to the wreck he had just become, there were too many things to do to be worrying about the past. 

Prompto got up from where he had collapsed. “Let’s do this.” 

The glaive hesitantly nodded, and took a fighting stance. Prompto noticed that she didn’t pull out the ice magic this round, and it cost her the match. Still, she had done rather well. “Good job! Uh, if I had to offer advice then I’d say to keep your distance. I’m not just saying that because I’m a ranged fighter! It’s just that you leave yourself vulnerable when you use certain attacks.” 

The glaive looked happy despite her defeat, and she hugged him before running off with bright red cheeks.


	7. The Behemoth, The Commodore, and The Haven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just thinking about Episode Prompto again. After you sleep at the haven he’s clean again, so let’s give an explanation for that.

“You did good, kid. Not many people can brag that they’ve bested me.” 

Prompto was bent over, panting. He had given it his all, and miraculously it had been enough. During the fight he had been certain Aranea was actually trying to kill him, with how viciously she had been attacking. Maybe that added to his desire to complete her intensive training. 

He really liked living. 

The gunner looked up, having finally caught his breath. “You’re bleeding!” A slow trickle of red stood out against her silver hair. Prompto stepped forward to examine it fully, but the dragoon stopped him. “Leave it. One of your bullets grazed me during that last aerial maneuver. I’m fine, I’ve lived through worse.” 

“Here, take one of my potions! O-or an elixir, please-“ “Prompto! Calm down.”

The items he had been offering went back into his pocket as Aranea pulled a small medical kit out of her coat. She had been kneeling after her defeat, so she sat down fully. Prompto nervously fidgeted with his gloves. 

Head wounds were always a lot more serious than they appeared, and if Aranea was severely injured then they’d both be in big trouble. Prompto didn’t know if he could survive whatever Ardyn’s trial was AND get Aranea to safety. The maniacal chancellor probably wouldn’t allow him to do both. He didn’t want to be forced into a choice: save her and risk never seeing Noctis again or leave her to get back home. It wasn’t really a choice when Prompto knew what he would do. There was no way he’d leave Aranea. She had come to save him, and he needed to make sure they both got out alive. 

Prompto asked again, abandoning the horrible train of thought. “Are you sure you don’t want one? I have ten, I think.” 

“Save the curatives for when they’re actually needed.” She began soaking one of the kit’s cotton balls with antiseptic. Dabbing her head, she ignored the blond as he stood awkwardly. He was obviously overthinking something, but she didn’t have the time to talk feelings right now. 

“Watch for monsters. Don’t feel like fighting.” Aranea hissed as the medicine disinfected the cut. She knew nothing would approach the area she had chosen, but she needed the kid to stop fretting. He had other, bigger things to worry about besides her. “Don’t touch that.” 

Prompto stopped, bandage in his hand. He had surveyed the area as she had asked, but upon determining that they were safe he knelt to help her anyway. “Nothing’s around us. Aranea, I can do this.” He squeezed ointment onto the medical adhesive and delicately pressed it to her head. It looked like just a small cut, so he was relieved. She’d be okay after all. “Noct, Iggy, Gladio, and I always helped each other patch up after battle. Sometimes we couldn’t afford potions, even though we really needed them.” 

“The prince didn’t have gil to burn? What’s the point of being royalty then?” Aranea started closing up the medical kit. Prompto chuckled. “Well, it was hard at first. After we left the city we had to spend most of what we had on car repairs. But then we started taking hunts, so it got easier to make gil.” 

“Yeah, killing daemons and monsters is a quick way to build funds. I’m an ex-mercenary, remember?” 

“Right. You left the army.” Prompto shivered as a particularly harsh wind smacked at their faces. “Do we have another can of food?” He honestly wasn’t looking forward to the bland canned flavor, but all the fighting had worked up an appetite. 

“No. We’re going to have to hunt.” Aranea scanned the area before holding her hand out towards Prompto. “Give me that map.”

The geographical paper was a bit crumpled from being shoved in his coat, but Prompto passed it over nonetheless. “What are you looking for?”

“Food. Duh.” 

“Well yeah, but it looks like nothing grows out here but trees… I miss just randomly stumbling across ingredients for Ignis to use. He always made them into the best-“ Prompto’s memory of his friend’s culinary magic was interrupted as Aranea found what she wanted. She shoved the map back towards him. “A behemoth lives here, shows up later in the day. You eat meat, right?” 

“Yeah, I-“ 

“Then let’s go, Shortcake. We need to hide, and we don’t have much time before dinner arrives.” 

-o-

“Uh.. haha, you didn’t say anything about it being this big? That’s a lot of meat for only two people.” The crosshair sat patiently over the hulking beast’s forehead. Prompto held the rifle steady as they hid a couple of feet away from their future meal. Yeah, behemoths were large but this one seemed to be twice the size of most. 

Niflheim was dangerous, even down to the animals...

“Stop whining. There’s another weapon shack over there. It looks busted though, so there may not be much inside. Make every shot count.” 

“I never miss!” Prompto knew he wouldn’t be wasting bullets, but hopefully there was more in the shack than the other ones he had stopped at. It seemed that three of each type of gun and a few Lumen Flares were standard for the structures.

“You better not. I’m going in.” With that she took off, and he took the shot. 

Alerted to danger by the metallic greeting, the behemoth roared. Prompto lined up another ‘hello’ as it started rampaging. “Not good! Aranea!” He wasn’t sure if she could hear his warning, so he kept shooting at the hundred-ton mass of moving anger. The only bad thing about using the Sagitta Rifle was the limited field of view (even though it made up for it in power). Prompto dropped the empty weapon after the bullets were nestled in the beast. 

Now came the hard part. 

Crossing the battlefield to get another gun would not be fun. 

Prompto kept firing with his handgun as he started running. He could see Aranea now, and she was busy being an aerial assailant. The behemoth was distracted for now, so the gunner took advantage. Right, maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as he thought! 

He was suddenly stopped by a blast of ice slamming into his back. Prompto fell like a rock, and pulled himself back up to limp away. The behemoth obviously wasn’t as distracted as he had hoped. Aranea suddenly appeared, and she stood over him as she pulled out a potion. Healing Prompto, she tapped his head. “No slacking on my watch!” 

“Thanks!” Prompto stood up fully to finish his race to the shack as Aranea jumped back into the fray. The behemoth was closer now, having spotted exactly what was attacking him. 

Taking sanctuary in the shoddy wooden shack, Prompto grabbed a bazooka. Peeking out from the entrance, he aimed. Three shots, three explosions. Prompto hurried to grab another one. A few minutes later, another blast of ice headed towards him as he held the vomiting Rapidus gun steady. Rolling into the shack fully, he pressed his back against the cold wood. The wall held despite the onslaught, and Prompto sighed in relief. He returned to his self-assigned post at the doorway. 

As the battle continued on Aranea demonstrated why she had been a high ranking army official. A few times she screeched in pain, but she always got back up. Prompto had tried to get to her the first time, but she had yelled at him to stay back. He obeyed and gave the behemoth a wide berth despite being concerned for his comrade. 

The behemoth finally collapsed after what felt like the millionth bullet. 

“Not too shabby!” Aranea immediately set to work, choosing to start harvesting meat from one of the legs. Prompto pulled out his Audux Blade and less-than-eagerly approached. “Where should I start?”

“You can start by putting that away. Go make a fire at the haven. I’ll be right behind you with the choice cuts from this.” As she gave him his assignment, Prompto performed a quick scan. She didn’t have any new injuries even though he had definitely heard her pained screaming during the fight. Her frustrated sigh pulled him from his amateur medical analysis. “Damn, too bad we don’t have a pot.” 

“Why do you need a pot? We can just roast it…” Camping for so long had taught Prompto a few new culinary tricks (thanks to the times he actually helped cook instead of just playing King’s Knight). “It doesn’t take that long either. Hehe, one time we used behemoth meat on our cup noodles. We had so much of it that we had to get creative after a while. Noct eventually just sold all the extra because we were all sick of eating it at every meal.”

“Hey, save storytime for after dinner. I’d like to eat sometime today.” 

“Sorry, I’m going.” Prompto grabbed another gun from the shack as he headed towards the haven. It wasn’t a far walk to the shelter, and he supposed they were lucky the beast hadn’t found them while they were sleeping last night. That would have been the icing on the cake. Nothing like intense emotional trauma, freezing temperatures, and a little mauling! He’d really have to refrain from vacationing here again. 

Pushing the sarcastic thought aside, Prompto started a fire inside the small circle of rocks. Aranea arrived shortly after with an armful of raw behemoth to cook. “There’s more that I wanted to bring over, but I can only carry so much at a time.” 

“Do you want me to go get it?” 

“Sure. Just don’t get hurt while you’re out. I don’t want to have to go looking for your sorry ass.” Aranea poked at the fire with a stick, hoping that making it bigger would cook the meat all the way through. 

Once again Prompto went out to brave the elements. His simple trip became a lot more complicated when he saw the magitek surrounding the very thing he was supposed to be retrieving. “Why are they here?” 

If they were still trying to find him, then they were close. This was bad. 

Okay, okay, hold on. 

There were only seven imperial riflemen, he could handle this. He had to. If he left them alone then it would only be a matter of time before they found the haven. Yeah, Aranea could help him fight them off, but it would be hard for her to fight normally in the shallow cave. She couldn’t perform her high jumps in there. 

Creeping back to the shack, he aimed the gun he had snagged earlier. One bullet would alert them of his presence, so he had to be careful about which one he picked off first. The crosshair was carefully placed on the trooper closest to him. 

The metal heap fell into the snow, and the other robots turned. Prompto lined up another shot as they approached. Four more scrap piles dropped as Prompto emptied the gun. The last two were approaching quickly, and the blond hurried to grab another weapon. 

He took too long. 

As he turned around he panicked a bit. They had closed the distance faster than he expected, so he pulled out the handgun as he backed into the shack. Unfortunately, he could only go so far because it was a small structure. The last robot stood in the doorway, blocking him in. 

Prompto quickly sliced with his blade. The magitek stumbled, staying still afterwards. He must have damaged some circuitry, enough to glitch the machine into vulnerability. A crackshot took care of the threat. 

The empty shell lay in front of him as the daemonic smoke faded. 

Prompto picked up the helmet. It was metal, pretty big, and there weren’t any leaky spots… This could be used as a pot? 

Re-arming himself with a bazooka, he left the shack to get the behemoth meat and fill his new cookware with some water from the icy lake. 

-o-

“Here, I found this. Can you use it?” Prompto hurried to hand her the helmet of water because it was freezing his side and his arm through his coat as he held it steady. 

Aranea took it as Prompto dropped the meat that had been in his other arm. “Good. We can heat this water and use it to bathe.” 

“Oh, that’s why you wanted it.” Wait, what? He wasn’t comfortable with stripping in front of a woman ten years his senior. Being naked in front of the guys was something he had come to terms with early in in their journey, but to be nude in front of someone he didn’t know as well as them… This was going to be awkward. Not that he didn’t want to shower! It would feel great to be clean again, running around frantically in the snow still made him sweaty. “Do you have soap?”

Ignoring his obvious internal distress (really, he was such a kid), Aranea pulled out the first aid kit again. “You really just travel around unprepared, huh?” 

“Hey, I didn’t exactly plan to be stranded in the tundra…” 

“I’m just messing with you. Once this water is done heating up go stand in the corner. If I catch you turning around while I’m cleaning up, -“ Her Stoss spear glinted menacingly as she used it to steady the helmet over the fire. “- your friends may not find you.” The threat was said in a joking manner, but Prompto took it to heart. He couldn’t take that chance with Aranea. 

Instead of dwelling on the potential harm, he decided to look for his handkerchief. He usually had one… and he had definitely replaced the one he used to help that puppy on the road… ah! Here it is. He had tucked one into the hidden inside pocket of his coat. Prompto thanked his past self for listening to Ignis’ preparation tips. 

Taking off his hat, he wandered over to see if the water was ready. “Nuh-uh, I get to go first, Shortcake.” Aranea opened her coat all the way and shimmied the first arm out. “Turn around.” 

Prompto quickly obeyed. He sat next to the fire and simply appreciated the warmth. 

Aranea dropped the now empty helmet onto the rock next to him with no warning, laughing at how he scrambled away. “That’s not funny!” 

“Lighten up. Go refill the pot and I’ll warm it for you.” Aranea ignored his grumbling as he stood to get more water. Thankfully Prompto’s trip to the lake was free of any more scares. As she kept her word, Prompto took off his boots, gloves, and coat. He removed his shirt, pants, and socks reluctantly. That was his last bit of protection from the cold. He stood next to the fire in his boxers, just waiting for the water to be done. 

“Here. And here’s the soap.” 

Armed with the bar and helmet, Prompto went over to the corner of the cave. Well, secluded spot. The cave was too rounded to really call it a corner. As he debated the correct terminology for his surroundings he set everything down. Peeking back one last time, he saw that Aranea wasn’t looking. Good. Prompto removed the last of his clothing. 

Soaking the handkerchief in the helmet, he left it floating as he grabbed the soap with his now wet hands. Shivering made everything take a little longer. Once all his skin was coated with a sad film of soap he grabbed the handkerchief. Wiping his face first so he could see again, Prompto rubbed the stuff off with the warm, wet rag. 

Finally clean, he felt a little better. 

He dumped the remaining water over himself and relished the last bit of warmth. Since he had no towel, he just stood there shaking as he dried. Prompto grabbed the boxers again and turned them inside out before re-donning them. He walked back over to the fire and put on his pants and shirt. Sitting, he used the still wet handkerchief to wipe his feet again. Getting off all the haven’s little pebbles was a quick job so he simply held his feet closer to the fire. Dry once more, he put the (now inside-out) socks and boots back on. 

Aranea had been sitting by the fire the entire time, and she finally commented once he picked up his coat. “What’s that on your shoulder?” 

“Huh?” Prompto looked. “I don’t…” he poked the bruise she had brought to his attention. “Hey, this is the exact spot you used to launch yourself at that garula earlier!” 

“Oh, uh, sorry. Guess my boots aren’t exactly the softest. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” 

“Thanks.” Prompto shook his head and put the coat back on. With the final addition of his gloves and hat he was re-dressed. “Well… I guess we should get some sleep.” 

“Really? You don’t have any stories to tell? You were a chatterbox earlier.” 

“I thought you didn’t… Okay. Uhhh, what’s a good one? Oh! Do you want to hear about how Noct caught this HUGE fish at Galdin?” Prompto snickered to himself as he remembered ‘Noct Gar’. “Or do you want the story where Ignis backflipped right into some cactuar spurs? Or when Gladio forgot to secure the tent and it fell on us while we were inside?” 

“Sounds like you four have the craziest adventures.” Aranea lay down. “Give me the funniest one.” 

Prompto smiled. He knew exactly which story to tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was probably the most vanilla shower scene you will ever read. You’re welcome.


End file.
